FX’s “The Bear” on Hulu is a strong candidate for Show of the Summer. Its fight scenes, meanwhile, are lower-quality than a round of 32-bit game “Ballbreaker.” The Christopher Storer series’ first fight scene comes during the pilot (fun fact: the only episode filmed inside an actual kitchen). Perfectly, the one-sided, (seemingly) one-punch brawl takes place because of a raucous “Ballbreaker” tourney at our favorite fictitious Chicago sandwich joint. (Also fictitious outside of the world of “The Bear,” “Ballbreaker” is essentially “Street Fighter,” though it somewhat oddly presents more like the side-scroller “Streets of Rage....

Tucked inside its dazzling, old-fashioned opening credits, Carlson Young’s confounding “The Blazing World” offers an early glimpse of what’s to come. The film’s writing credits (Young and Pierce Brown) include the notation that the film was “inspired by Margaret Cavendish and other dreams.” Cavendish was a 17th-century English aristocrat, and a trailblazer: She was a scientist, a prolific playwright, and the author of the utopian sci-fi forerunner “The Blazing World....

“Diabolical” is set within “The Boys” universe, based on the New York Times-bestselling comic book series. The spinoff features “fun-size episodes,” per a series description, with each episode between 12 and 14 minutes long. Awkwafina, Ilana Glazer, Andy Samberg, Aisha Tyler, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, and original “The Boys” author Garth Ennis are among the “Diabolical” writers. A sneak peek at “Diabolical” introduces fans to “Laser Baby,” a giggling toddler girl who can make enemies’ heads explode at the blink of an eye, much like the mysterious season two “Boys” villain Becca (Shantel VanSanten) and the infants addicted to Compound V....

“The G Word with Adam Conover” aims to dig into the sprawling bureaucracy that makes up the executive branch of the federal government. Each episode will feature the “Adam Ruins Everything” host examining a different area of the government, complete with interviews from employees at obscure agencies that many Americans probably didn’t know existed. Netflix’s synopsis of the show describes it as “a hybrid comedy-documentary series that pulls back the curtain on the surprising ways the U....

Earning mugs engraved with “Best Dad” and “Worst Dad,” all within the last 10 years, is a feat unto itself, and proves the funnyman from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Space Force” is still pushing himself into fresh territory. “The Patient” (another FX production available only on Hulu) continues the trend. While ostensibly about a therapist kidnapped by a troubled young man he’s treating, the psychological thriller from Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg (in their first collaboration since “The Americans”) is really a father-son story — two father-son stories, it turns out, and Carell’s carries even more prominence, sparks even more curiosity, than the killer’s....

After such a tumultuous year, are any of us really surprised that the holiday season has been completely disrupted? Or, conversely, is anyone that shocked by some people’s insistence on attempting to plow ahead with their Thanksgiving traditions, giving little heed to the ongoing pandemic that continues to expand by the day? Ah, but you and I are smarter than that. We’ve canceled our plans with family and friends and our Thursday schedule includes hunkering down to watch a deserted Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and eating Cool Whip straight out of the container....

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” is Joel’s follow-up to “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and pairs Oscar winners Washington and McDormand for the first time on screen together. McDormand is fresh off Oscar wins earlier this year for Best Actress and Best Picture with “Nomadland,” and she could very well find herself with another acting nomination for sinking her teeth into Lady Macbeth. Washington stars in the title role, while Corey Hawkins stars as Macduff....

Per the film’s official synopsis, “The Truffle Hunters” follows “a handful of men, seventy to eighty years young, in Piedmont, Italy, on the search for the elusive Alba truffle. They’re guided by a secret culture passed down through generations, as well as by the noses of their cherished and expertly trained dogs. The documentary subtly explores the devastating effects of climate change and deforestation on an age-old tradition through a visually stunning narrative that celebrates life and exalts the human spirit....

Included among those entrants are two substantial Emmy contenders that made their bow this week. The two series couldn’t be more different if they tried, but both seem primed to make a mark on Emmy races that heretofore seemed all but locked up. Related Emmys Sink to Record-Low Ratings ‘Succession’ Wins Best Drama Series at 2022 Emmys Related Oscars 2023: Best Documentary Feature Predictions Oscars 2023: Best Sound Predictions And for good reason....

Here’s the official synopsis: As Haynes told IndieWire during a Cannes Film Festival interview, the movie employs the style of avant-garde film because that’s exactly the movement that was informing The Velvet Underground’s music at the time. “This band was formed by the avant-garde cinema and culture of New York at this time,” Haynes said. “It was happening in every conceivable way around this band, whether it was [John] Cale living with Jack Smith on Ludlow Street or the band being asked to make music for one of Jonas [Menkas]’ multimedia film series at the cinematheque....

“The original idea stems from me being a 20-something entering the workforce for the first time at Pixar and feeling all of the inadequacies that are coming at you all at once,” Corbin said. “Am I a successful adult or am I bunch of kids running around to make it work? This was fun to visualize [adulting] as a short.” When approached to direct her first short through the experimental SparkShort program, Corbin immediately started hyperventilating....

The nonfiction book explores Joseph Smith founding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with its revelations of polygamy, justifications of violence, and capacity to foster would-be prophets. Even as the church officially abandoned polygamy, disenchanted Mormons created a modern-day Fundamentalist movement with multiple breakaway factions that hew to their (often conflicting) interpretations of Smith’s original teachings. (According to the church, which is now headquartered in Salt Lake City and has nearly 17 million members, “There is no such thing as a ‘fundamentalist’ Mormon… The Church discontinued polygamy more than a century ago....

Kilmer, who has been recovering from throat cancer, first revealed the health diagnosis in 2017. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments have left Kilmer unable to speak clearly, but he hasn’t lost his creative voice. “Val” compiles footage dating back to his childhood, along with personal recordings from the early days in his career — including his 1983 Broadway debut. Kilmer’s son Jack, an actor himself, narrates the film. As for Kilmer, the 61-year-old actor has been documenting his life and career through film and video for more than 40 years....

The following review contains spoilers for the ending of “Violation.” In their Master Class during 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, “Transparent” creator Joey Soloway posits that the female gaze, a term originated by film theorist Laura Mulvey, should not strive to be the direct inverse of the male gaze. While women, trans, and non-binary filmmakers are well within their rights to subvert conventional norms around nudity, sexuality, and the framing of bodies, a truly “other gaze” (Soloway’s inclusive amendment of the term) should aim to create new imagery outside of established cinematic tropes....

Former “New Girl” star Lamorne Morris returns to television in the semi-animated series, which is inspired by the life and work of artist Keith Knight, known for his humorous cartoon handlings of political, social, and racial issues. The wannabe hip San Francisco Bay area-set series tackles conventional definitions of Blackness in comical — though not in particularly fresh or insightful — ways. In “Woke,” Morris plays Keef, a self-identified non-controversial Black cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success....

“Your Honor” stars Cranston as Michael Desiato, a respected New Orleans judge whose teenage son, Adam (Hunter Doohan), is involved in a hit-and-run. Forced to cover up the crime in order to protect his son, Michael finds himself in a high-stakes game of lies, deceit, and impossible choices when it’s revealed the person his son killed is the son of Jimmy Baxter (Michael Stuhlbarg), the much-feared head of a crime family....

We’ve officially entered sweater weather season! You’ll probably be attending (or throwing) at least one holiday party this month and, even if you don’t get too excited about the holidays, ugly Christmas sweaters are a fun tradition that anyone can enjoy. They’re not just for parties, though; ugly Christmas sweaters are extremely versatile. You can give them as gifts, wear them around the house, or sport them at the office....

Here’s the synopsis courtesy of Netflix: “I’m very thrilled to collaborate with such a great team: Fernando Meirelles, who I met when I was 14 when I was in high school in São Paulo, who I looked up to and saw that I too could become a Brazilian filmmaker; Ramin Bahrani my mentor of many years; and everybody at Netflix, who believed in this project from day one,” Moratto said....

At times, “All In: The Fight for Democracy” plays like a survey for an introductory class in voting rights — a noble aim, albeit one that doesn’t necessarily make for inspired filmmaking. The film’s most moving points are its flashes of humanity, which reveal the personal toll that racism and racist voting policies take. Abrams’ own narrative is especially illuminating; as a skilled rhetorical politician she is an expert at weaving her story into broader themes....

Ring founder and inventor Jamie Siminoff previously appeared on “Shark Tank” as a contestant and later a Guest Shark. “The Ring surveillance network used to garner clips for Ring Nation does so at the expense of Black and brown people. Ring has a long history of using racially coded dog whistles and weaponizing race to promote their products,” the letter states. “And the accompanying Neighbors app gamifies the profiling and criminalization of Black and brown individuals....